Final Word: We must come together

As an American, parent of a young child, husband of a school teacher and working as a newspaper editor, how can I not?

The unthinkable tragedies that unfolded on Friday, Dec. 14, struck a chord that frayed the nerves of even the most hardened news professional. When I heard the news, I tweeted, “We hear about all types of crime in a newsroom. Nothing saddens me more than hearing of a school shooting.”

After we got the paper out just after noon, news and reports continued to roll in from Newtown, Conn., and I found it highly difficult to work. I just wanted to go and pick up my daughter and wife and hug them both. I was shocked, then angry, then sad, then just wanting to run home and hunker down with those I love.

It’s not a feeling that I have often, but one that I remember well from Sept. 11, 2001, during my freshman year of college. I also remember it from April 18, 1999, when news of a school shooting at Columbine resonated with me, the same age of those who were slain.

To be blunt, I am sick and tired of having this feeling. I am sick of war. Sick of seeing innocent people, especially children, being killed. I am sick of these incidents, and those that happen every day that don’t make more than a 30-second clip on television news.

The fiscal cliff. Right-to-work. The economy. Gun control. These are all important and are hot-button topics.

But no political issue is more important than keeping our kids safe. It’s time we figure out what can be done to prevent this.

Last week, when discussing gun control, I was told, “There is no conversation to be had.”

No matter what you believe, a conversation is necessary.

I have definitive viewpoints. Many are guided by my faith in God. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t listen to each other.

Last time I checked, our country is struggling economically, spiritually and socially. Political fighting is at an all-time high and anger is at a fever pitch.

I am a believer that mine is the first generation perhaps in the history of this nation that life will be more difficult than the generation before us.

It’s why I am more than willing to listen to viewpoints that I might not always agree with. You should, too. Healthy discourse, discussion and action are the only ways we’ll be able to attack a problem such as our violence epidemic.

Listen. Discuss. Pray. Act.

We all need to consider what we can do to prevent more of these senseless violent episodes.

As Mark 12:31 reads, “Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”

There is evil in this world and loving and respecting one another is the only way to combat it.

— Jeremy Speer is editor of the Gaylord Herald Times. Contact him at 732-1111 or jspeer@gaylordheraldtimes.com